England's landlord register opens on 15 December 2026

On 9 September 2026, the government announced that it intends to roll out the requirement for landlords of assured or regulated tenancies in England to register themselves and their properties through a new registration service, known under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (‘RRA 2025’) as the Private Rented Sector Database (‘PRS’), on a phased basis, by region. A draft of the Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 (the ‘Regulations’) has now been laid before Parliament.

The database (to be known as the "Register Your Rental Property" service) will launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and then applying to other areas over the following 9 months, with the Regulations coming fully into force, for all other purposes, on 15 September 2027.

The announcement and draft regulations explain that the obligation to register will initially apply only to landlords with properties actively let, or that become occupied during rollout. Under future legislation, landlords will also be required to register any unoccupied properties before marketing them for let. Letting agents and landlords will need to include registration numbers on adverts.

Landlords with properties in the relevant region will have three months to sign up. Landlords failing to do so will face sanctions.

Landlords will need to provide a range of information about their properties, including relevant gas, electrical and energy performance certificates. They will also have to confirm whether the dwelling requires a house in multiple occupation (HMO) licence.

In the same announcement, the government said HM Revenue and Customs' Valuation Office will become responsible for decisions on challenges to rent increases in England, to help people resolve rent disputes more quickly. While the government develops this reform, renters who want to challenge a rent increase must still apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

When do landlords in each region need to register?

The Register Your Rental Property service opens on 15 December 2026, but the legal requirement to register is being introduced region by region. The deadline depends on where the property is located, not where the landlord lives. Once the requirement starts in a region, landlords have three months to register, and councils in that region can begin enforcement action after the deadline.

Landlords with properties in more than one region can register them all at once from 15 December 2026, as long as they register each property before its regional deadline. The annual fee is £65 per property and must be renewed each year. The fee is pro-rated during the rollout.

Landlords remain responsible for starting and completing the registration themselves, even if they use a letting agent. Agents may be able to upload certain information on the landlord's behalf.

The PRS database, or the Register Your Rental Property Service

Chapter 3 of Part 2 of the RRA 2025 provides for its introduction. The database must contain entries in respect of:

• Persons who are, or who intend to become, residential landlords (landlord entry).
• Dwellings which are, or are intended to be, let under residential tenancies (dwelling entry).
• Persons who are subject to banning orders or who have been subject to financial penalties or convictions.

Regulations 4, 5 and 6 and the associated Schedules 2 and 3 set out the requirements for making landlord and dwelling entries in the PRS database, including how an entry is made, who may make an entry and what information and documents must be provided.

Regulations 7, 8 and 9 set out the requirements for updating active landlord and dwelling entries, including who may update an entry.

Regulation 10 deals with renewals of active entries. Regulations 11 and 12 set out when active landlord and dwelling entries become inactive, other than on non-renewal, and who may reactivate inactive entries. Regulation 13 allows the database operator or local housing authorities to verify, correct or remove entries. Regulation 14 delegates to the database operator the setting of fees to be charged for making, renewing or reactivating a dwelling entry.

Failure or breach

A dwelling must not be marketed for the purpose of creating a residential tenancy unless there is an active landlord entry on the database in respect of the person who will be the residential landlord of that tenancy and an active dwelling entry in respect of that dwelling. The landlord must ensure an active landlord entry and an active dwelling entry remain in place throughout the tenancy and must comply with any regulations on keeping the entries up to date.

A breach does not affect the validity or enforceability of a residential tenancy or other contract. A landlord will, however, be prevented from obtaining a possession order if they have failed to ensure that there is both an active landlord entry and an active dwelling entry in the database (not applicable to Ground 7A or Ground 14).

A landlord can be made subject to a Rent Repayment Order for continuing breaches of the requirement to have an active landlord and dwelling entry on the database or the knowing or reckless provision of false or misleading information to the database.Landlords facing a possession claim or a rent repayment application can seek advice from our property dispute solicitors.